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Independent security analysts have been trying to help governments, insurers and others to understand the potential impact that the Covid-19 pandemic might have going forward. In some regions their conclusions make interesting, whilst slightly worrying reading.

Very broadly, their reports suggest that as the world eases out of lockdown, many regions will be adversely affecteddue to:

– a sharp rise in unemployment;

– an increased likelihood of localised shortages, as supply chains struggle to adjust. In some areas and sectors, the situation will be exacerbated where businesses fail.

Terrorism around the globe has reduced, in the short term, as there has been less soft targets (places where people gather). Even in very active areas, there has been some reduction in treat levels; it seems that even the Taliban and other groups don’t want to disrupt certain supply chains. Whilst in other regions a thin cease fire that currently exists is only highlighting deep distrust. Additionally, some groups will use this time to undermine governmental positions altogether. Certain Oil producing countries will have additional economic pressures caused by the low prices currently on the world market.

From discussions with a number of market leaders in the Political Violence insurance sector, it seems that they are especially concerned about the potential increase in civil unrest and protests following the pandemic. Such civil unrest could take the form of strikes if labour forces are asked to accept large job or salary cuts. Riots are often caused by commodity shortages, especially food and fuel, so this is another potential threat. We are already seeing increases in insurance rates and decreasing capacity for these Strikes, Riots and Civil Commotion (SRCC) perils. “Looting” is also being singled out as a potential issue, especially for your retail clients.

Many amongst us will not have experienced a hard insurance market, but preparation as always is a major key to success. Understanding and assessing your clients’ need is now more important than ever. Understanding the global dynamics and the insurance market perspective, combined with access to dedicated knowledge and capacity, will assist your clients to mitigate some of these potential problems.

Safeonline provides its clients access to first rate insurance markets who can provide a full range of Political Violence (PV) coverages:

– Terrorism only;

– Covers including Strikes, Riots and Civil Commotion;

– Fully comprehensive PV covers that extent to War and Cyber covers.

We obviously hope that your region is not one that experience a post Covid-19 spike in violence, but we are here to assist if you or your clients need us.”

Introduction

In the past, ransomware has trumped other methods as the most popular form of cyber espionage. Over the past year however, there has been a spike in criminals searching for new opportunities for revenue generation. Considering the astronomical rise in the value of cryptocurrency, it is unsurprising that they have identified coin-mining as a preferable method. This term has been coined ‘cryptojacking’, and is likely to be contributing significantly to the reported 8,500% increase in detection of coin-miners (Symantec, 2018).

Cryptojacking is defined as ‘a form of cyber attack in which a hacker hijacks a target’s processing power to mine cryptocurrency on the hacker’s behalf.’

Introduction

Physical characteristics (biometrics) have become increasingly popular as a method of authentication. They are static, highly resistant to alteration, non-transferable and cannot be misplaced or forgotten. According to a Spiceworks report, a professional IT network, up to 90% of organisations will be implementing biometrics by 2020. This is a reaction to the 1,579 high publicity data breaches that occurred in 2017 and exposed over 179 million personal records.

While physical biometrics have certainly been instrumental in providing a high level of authentication, it is unsurprising that they have seen a range of hacking attacks and regulatory issues.

“I have been providing terrorism and political violence solutions for clients globally since the late 1990’s. I don’t believe there is such a thing as a ‘stupid question’ and below are a furthers selection of questions I have been asked and my answers. I hope that this insight will be useful to anyone interested in this line of coverage.”

We are thrilled to be named as finalists at the Tech & Innovation Awards for the ‘Technology Innovation of the Year’ category. This award represents the hard work and dedication of all Safeonline employees to constantly challenge industry norms; placing technology at the centre of all that they do.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the processing of machines and computer systems to stimulate human intelligence; this can include learning, reasoning and self-correction. There are multiple versions of AI and they are most commonly split into two categories; weak AI, and strong AI. Weak AI is a system that is trained for a specific task, for example a virtual personal assistant such as Apple’s Siri. Strong AI on the other hand, is an AI system with generalised human cognitive abilities so that when it is presented with an unfamiliar task it has the intelligence to find a comprehensive solution.

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Safeonline LLP encourages everyone in the UK to follow Government advice and to stay inside as much as possible during this national emergency. It is the only way to save our NHS and the lives of many.

Safeonline are well versed in agile and remote working and continue to operate as normal, despite the tricky times. Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you require assistance with any current or new placements.